''Crête-à-Pierrot'' was a

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

in the

Haitian Navy The Haitian Coast Guard, officially the Haitian Coast Guard Commission (; abbreviated G-Cd'H), is an operational unit of the Haitian National Police. It is one of the few law enforcement organisations in the world to combine water police, water po ...

named after the 1802

Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot The Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot was a major battle of the Saint-Domingue expedition that took place between 2 March and 24 March 1802 as part of the expedition's efforts to retake the colony of Saint-Domingue from Black general Toussaint Louvertu ...

in the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...

(1791 – 1804). The boat was destroyed by Admiral Hammerton Killick in 1902 to prevent it falling into the hands of a German warship.

Description

The ship displaced 950 tons. It was powered by a

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure (HP) cylinder, then having given up heat ...

driving a single screw

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

, giving a speed of . Armament comprised a 16 cm, 12 cm and four 10 cm guns, four Nordenfelt machine guns and two Maxim machine guns.

Commission

The Haitian Government commissioned an armed

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

to be designed by Sir E J Reed and built by Earle's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co at

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, England. The ship was launched as ''Crête-à-Pierrot'', named for the revolutionary

battle of Crête-à-Pierrot The Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot was a major battle of the Saint-Domingue expedition that took place between 2 March and 24 March 1802 as part of the expedition's efforts to retake the colony of Saint-Domingue from Black general Toussaint Louvertu ...

, on 7 November 1895. After arming in France, it was added to the Haitian Navy in 1896 and considered the Navy's crown jewel, the best of the four ships it possessed at the time. ''Crête-à-Pierrot''s first commander was Captain Gilmour, from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, who served under contract to Haiti.

Destruction

In 1902

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

was enveloped in a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

over who would become president after the sudden resignation of

Tirésias Simon Sam Paul Tirésias Augustin Simon Sam (May 15, 1835 – May 11, 1916) was the president of Haiti from 31 March 1896 to 12 May 1902. He resigned the presidency just before completing his six-year term. Biography Born in the year 1835, Tirésias Sim ...

. ''Crête-à-Pierrot'' was controlled by Admiral Hammerton Killick and supporters of

Anténor Firmin Joseph Auguste Anténor Firmin (18 October 1850 – 19 September 1911), better known as Anténor Firmin, was a Haitian barrister and philosopher, pioneering anthropologist, journalist, and politician. Firmin is best known for his book (), which ...

and was used to blockade ports where

Pierre Nord Alexis Pierre Nord Alexis (; 2 August 1820 – 1 May 1910) was President of Haiti from 17 December 1902 to 2 December 1908. Early life He was the son of a high-ranking official in the regime of Henri Christophe, and Blézine Georges, Christophe's ille ...

was gathering troops. There was a plan to use ''Crête-à-Pierrot'' to transport Firmin to

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

while Jean Jumeau marched on Port-au-Prince by land. In September 1902, ''Crête-à-Pierrot'' seized a German ammunition ship, '' Markomannia'' en route to provide ammunition to Alexis' forces. Alexis asked Germany for help subduing a

pirate ship Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

. In response, Germany sent the gunboat to find and capture ''Crête-à-Pierrot''. On 6 September, ''Crête-à-Pierrot'' was in port at

Gonaïves Gonaïves (; also Les Gonaïves; , ) is a commune in northern Haiti, and the capital of the Artibonite department of Haiti. The population was 356,324 at the 2015 census. History The city of Gonaïves was founded around 1422 by a group of T ...

, with Killick and most of the crew on

Shore leave Shore leave is the leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is also known as "liberty" within the United States Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps. During the Age of Sail, shore leave was often abused by the members of the ...

when ''Panther'' appeared. Killick rushed aboard and ordered his crew to abandon ship. When all but four crew members had evacuated the ship Killick, inspired by the tale of Captain LaPorte, wrapped himself in a Haitian flag, fired the aft magazine, and blew up the ship rather than let the Germans take her. Killick and the remaining four crew members went down with the ship. An hour later, ''Panther'' fired thirty shots at ''Crête-à-Pierrot'' to finish it off, then sailed away. The ship's rifles and machine guns were salvaged, along with the bodies of the crew that remained on board.

Gallery

File:SMS Panther (1901).jpg, , the German ship sent to capture ''Crête-à-Pierrot''. File:Hammerton Killick.jpg, Admiral Hammerton Killick, who destroyed the ship rather than let the Germans have her. File:Picture of Pierre Nord Alexis.jpg, Pierre Nord Alexis, the 19th President of Haiti. File:Anténor Firmin Historical Portrait.png, Anténor Firmin. The ship was destroyed in civil war over who would become the 19th President of Haiti. File:Haitianisches Kanonenboot "Crête-à-Pierrot" am 6. September 1902 im Hafen von La Gonaives kurz vor der Versenkung durch SMS PANTHER.jpg, Haitian gunboat ''Crête-à-Pierrot'' on 6 September 1902 at the Port of Gonaives shortly before the sinking by SMS ''Panther''. File:Das haitianische Kanonenboot Crete-à-Pierrot sinkt nach Beschuß durch SMS Panther im Hafen von Gonaives 6. September 1902.jpg, The Haitian gunboat ''Crete-à-Pierrot'' sinking after bombardment by SMS ''Panther'' in the port of Gonaives 6 September 1902. File:Wrack des haitianischen Kanonenboots Crete-à-Pierrot im Hafen von Gonaives Aufnahme vom 6. September 1902 durch SMS Panther.jpg, Wreck of the Haitian gunboat ''Crete-à-Pierrot'' in the port of Gonaives on 6 September 1902.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crete-a-Pierrot 1895 ships Ships built on the Humber Ships of the Haitian Navy Maritime incidents in 1902 Scuttled vessels Ships sunk by non-combat internal explosions Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea 1902 in Haiti Military history of Haiti